The power of lullabies
by Gotham's Siren
Summary: Batman hasn't slept in days thanks to Joker's laughing gas. The mental and physical exhaustion have begun to take their toll. Going to the Justice League Meeting had been a mistake, but maybe Superman can help.


_**A/N: Just a short, random oneshot. Have had this on my computer forever, finally felt like putting it up. Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my computer.**_

For as long as he could remember sleep had eluded him. When he was young it had been nightmares of bats that had awoken him, leaving him pale and shaking. Later, his parent's deaths. He hadn't had a night of sleep uninterrupted by nightmares since he was six years old. He had convinced himself at a young age that he didn't need sleep, that it was a waste of time. His parents hadn't agreed when they were alive but Joe Chill had quickly taken care of that.

xXxxXxxXx

The Joker had escaped Arkham less than a week ago; catching him had been difficult, much more difficult than the Dark Knight would ever care to admit. He had a different variety of laughing gas with him as well, one that had come in close contact with the Caped Crusader. The antidote did not seem to be working on the new variety, and one of the annoying symptoms presented itself night after night, insomnia. He had lain awake for hours, his eyes unable to close for more than a second before the laughing started. The cackles and giggles would rise in his throat, spilling forth with surprising force. They made him unable to breathe and his eyes water. His patrols grew steadily longer, until he was out until dawn. Daylight made sleeping impossible, and the meetings at Wayne Enterprises kept him awake.

xxXxxXxXx

Going to the Justice meeting had been a mistake. The large leather chair seemed to call to him, made his eyes droop with sudden exhaustion. He sank into it gratefully, sighing aloud. His eyes closed for just a few moments as he waited for the others to take their seats; the laughs began to build, he could feel them. His eyes shot open and he jumped in his chair.

"Whoa Bats, take it easy." Flash laughed, hopping into his chair and giving the dark knight a mischievous grin.

Batman glared half-heartedly, not having the energy to come up with a retort.

Flash raised his eyebrow but said nothing, if Bats didn't want to respond the way he usually did that was fine with him, more time to try and flirt with Diana.

Clark cleared his throat, standing at the head of the table. "Alright, let's get this meeting started shall we?"

As Clark droned on about the political aspects of the League, Batman found his mind wandering. How much longer would he be able to go without sleep? It had been four days, any longer and he would start to hallucinate and become paranoid, not that he wasn't already. He had gone this long without sleep before; why was it so hard now? Then again, he had always had small "power-naps", as Alfred called them.

His eyes began to flutter beneath the cowl, drooping shut before he forced them open again. He was so tired….so tired…

A loud giggle escaped him before he could stop it. He clasped his hands over his mouth, his eyes going wide as the others turned to look at him.

"Bruce? Are you okay?"

He swallowed, forcing down his embarrassment. "I'm fine. Continue."

Clark looked unsure, but did as instructed, giving Bruce's mind another chance to wander.

It was only a few minutes later that his eyes began to grow heavy again. He needed blaring music, coffee, _anything_. This was torture…and the antidote would be another two days.

His eyes slid shut, just as the laughs rose in his throat. He shot out of his chair, running to the door and punching in his pass code. He needed to train, that would keep him awake. The gym, perfect.

"Batman where are you going? You can't just-"

He ignored them, forcing himself to walk faster; he was nearly to the gym, perfect.

xXxxXxxXx

It had only been an hour. He trained longer than this after being poisoned by the Scarecrow. But his body was failing him, his breath had become little more than pants, small tremors wracked his frame, his eyes couldn't focus. He had to stop.

He stood on shaking legs, his head reeling. He needed sleep, he _craved_ it.

"Bruce?"

He turned his head tiredly, looking at Clark with only a kind of half-interest. "I'm fine." He slurred.

"No you're not. Sit down before you collapse."

Bruce glared at him, but walked to the bench anyway, sinking into it gratefully.

"What's happened? What's wrong?" Clark sat down beside him.

"Nothing."

"Bruce don't lie to me, maybe I can help."

It was the sleep deprivation, or at least that was what he would blame it on later.

"I-I haven't been sleeping well." It wasn't exactly a lie.

"Is that all?" Clark raised an eyebrow, his hands wringing together. "If you need somewhere quiet to sleep you're always welcome to-"

"It isn't that…." Bruce paused, dropping his head into his hands. "I'm so _tired. _But I can't sleep; every time I try…I laugh." He raised his head and glared. "Don't look at me like that." He looked back down at his hands. "I laugh so hard I start screaming, my eyes water. It hurts. I haven't been able to sleep for four days."

Clark's eyebrows shot up toward his hairline. "Bruce! What happened? Why can't you-"

"Joker's new variety of laughing gas."

"Oh." Clark paused. "Isn't there an antidote?"

Bruce nodded wearily. "Yes, but it will be another two days until I can take it."

"Bruce, you can't go without sleep that long, you're going to start hallucinating soon."

"I know."

"Isn't there anything you can do? Drugs you can take?"

Bruce shot him a glare. "Don't you think I've tried?"

"Oh….." Clark paused again, grimacing. "Have you-well have you tried just waiting it out? You know, seeing how long until it went away?"

"I doubt the laughter would suddenly just stop."

"You said doubt! That means it's possible!" Clark shouted, grabbing his arm.

xXxxXxxXx

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?"

"Because you're tired and not thinking clearly."

"Ah, well that would make sense."

"Exactly, now hurry up."

Bruce grumbled, climbing into the bed and laying his head down on the soft (too soft) pillow. His eyes were already slipping shut.

"Alright. Ready?" Clark sat down in a chair beside the bed, ready to intervene if necessary.

Bruce nodded, yawning. He allowed his eyes to close.

The first giggle was soft, barely a breath. Soon, giggles poured from his throat; he tried to ignore them. Suddenly, they became louder, more like screams than actual laughter.

Clark sat up in his chair, watching with worried blue eyes.

Bruce kept his eyes shut, even as the tears began to make their way down his cheeks and his lungs began to burn. His back arched with each laughing scream. "It hurts..." He rasped between screams.

Clark climbed into bed with him, pushing his hands down on Bruce's shoulders. "Relax Bruce."

Bruce cracked one of his eyes open before it fell shut again.

A half hour went by with no sign of stopping. Clark was growing desperate; he had to be able to do something. He began to hum absentmindedly, lifting one of his hands to run his fingers through Bruce's short raven hair; it always helped him relax when Lois did this.

The laughs hitched, stopping for a moment.

Clark's eyes widened, but he kept humming. Bruce began to relax underneath him, his breaths becoming slower as the laughter began to fade.

Another half hour and he was asleep.

Clark stepped back, sitting back down in the chair, still humming. "The power of lullabies, eh?" He chuckled, humming another tune under his breath.

_**A/N: Feel free to leave a review! I start school again tomorrow so they would certainly make my day!**_


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